Microforest Day: Ethnobotany Talk & Making a Mini-Forest Screening

Join us for a special Microforest Day at West Los Angeles College! 🌿

We begin with an ethnobotany talk led by Matthew Teutimez, tribal biologist from the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians – Kizh Nation. Arts and science activities will be co-led by the Laboratory for Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) and the Nature Nexus Institute. Learn about the cultural and ecological importance of native plants and their role in community resilience.

Then we’ll gather to watch Making a Mini-Forest (2025)- a documentary showcasing the global movement to plant dense, biodiverse mini-forests in urban landscapes.

Who Should Attend:
Students, community members, educators, and anyone interested in conservation, cultural knowledge, and climate resilience.

Lunch provided!

✨ Free & open to the public – RSVP required via Eventbrite.

About the guests..
Matthew Teutimez

Matthew is the Executive Director and Lead Scientist for LINKS and is Chairman of CalEPA’s Tribal Advisory Committee where they oversee all the Boards, Departments, and Offices under CalEPA. Matthew holds both a Bachelor and Master of Science in Biology from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), and has been a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California (USC). Matthew is a specialist in ethnobotanical and cultural uses of native plants and animals including the pre-historic distributions of natural resources throughout the ancestral territory of the Kizh - Gabrieleño Tribe. Mr. Teutimez is the Biologist and Director of Resources for the Tribe where he contributes his expertise in environmental stewardship and resource management. He has been designated by his Tribe to possess and share Kizh-Gabrieleño cultural knowledge and practices taught to him by Chief Ernie P. Salas Teutimez and other Elders of the Tribe. Matthew is also the founder and executive director of an indigenous non-profit known as the Laboratory for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, which was created to integrate and apply indigenous knowledge and techniques into environmental stewardship.

Angelina Lee

Angelina Lee is a director and cinematographer who focuses on the natural world. She was named an Obama Fellow at Occidental College’s Barack Obama Scholars Program, and through their scholarship program produced a documentary about regenerative agriculture, “The Big Raise.” She worked as the writer, director, and editor for short fiction films “Thread” and “Quercus,” Research Assistant for the PPE Portrait Project, producer for feature film “Let’s Meet Halfway,” and cinematographer for “At Last Deserted.”

Her most recent work, the feature-length documentary “Making a Mini-Forest,” covers the emerging international movement to plant “mini-forests” in cities to address climate change and support local biodiversity. The film premiered at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification’s 16th Conference of the Parties on December 2, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Info: Led by tribal biologist Matthew Teutimez. Arts and science activities will be co-led by the Laboratory for Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) and the Nature Nexus Institute, highlighting the cultural and ecological importance of native plants.

Info: Watch Making a Mini-Forest (2025), directed, produced, filmed, and edited by Angelina Lee. The filmmaker will join us for Q&A and conversation after the screening.

Info: Lunch provided by the Climate Center at WLAC and a chance to connect with fellow participants.

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